Follow Me
by EverydayGleek
Summary: "This goes to show that not everything with fangs is out to eat you." Laura is joined on a late night stroll by an unexpected guest.


"Yes, dad, I promise to be careful. No, I'm done with work. I can see the campus from here. Besides, there are many streetlights illuminating my way, so believe it or not, I _can_ see where I'm going." Laura says into her cell phone's receiver, rolling her eyes at her father's overprotective tone. "Yes, dad. Yes, I promise to call you as soon as I get to my room. Okay, I love you too. Bye." She closes her flip phone and stuffs the device into her pocket, adjusting the strap of her purse onto her shoulder, as she continues her walk, her feet moving faster on their own accord. She's had a long day of work at the local diner, having put up with far too many abrasive patrons. If she had a dollar for every sleazy imbecile to have hit on her that day, she'd have 20 extra dollars in her pocket.

Laura continues walking towards the bright lights of her college campus, forcing her feet to move faster, so that she can _reach_ faster. She's almost there; she's almost to the safety and warmth of her room. Well, maybe safe isn't the proper term to use, seeing as how she rarely remembers to lock the door, and she's pretty sure her terrible roommate, Carmilla, counts as a health hazard. Laura doesn't understand how someone so hot and outspoken can be so lazy and untidy. The blonde is pretty sure that her roommate is inactive and uncooperative just for the sake of annoying her to death. Unfortunately for Laura, it's working.

As the blonde continues moving forward, she hears the sound of rustling leaves behind her. She quickens her steps, discreetly turning her head to peek behind her. She sees nothing out of the ordinary and turns her attention ahead, brushing off the rustling leaves as a result of the blowing wind. As she nears the entrance of the campus, the sound happens again, only this time, the sound is accompanied by the pitter pattering of steps. Except, it's not the normal pitter pattering of human steps….but something more animalistic. From the heaviness of the steps, Laura would guess that it was a rather large animal. Laura quickens her steps again, only to halt mid stride when a purring captures her attention. Laura turns her head slightly, her eyes widening in fear and intrigue as a giant black cat stalks towards her. Laura stands stock-still, watching in fear as the giant cat saunters over to her, circling her legs the way a domestic cat would circle its owner's legs. The cat look up at her with bright green eyes, nuzzling its head into her abdomen.

Laura snaps out her fearful haze, gently reaching her hand out to pet the cat's head. As she does so, the giant cat purrs in contentment, nuzzling further into her abdomen. "Wow, you're a friendly jaguar, aren't you?" She says cautiously, eliciting a growl from the large animal. "Oh, um, I mean, _panther_?" She questions, sighing in relief when the animal begins purring contentedly again. Laura continues to pet the cat's head, moving her hand down to its neck, and back. "What's got you out here near a college campus, hmm? Are you lost? Are you someone's pet? Are you Mike Tyson's pet, perhaps? But then again, Mike Tyson lives in America, so you can't be his. Unless you've escaped from his house and made your way to Canada all alone. But _then again_, he has a pet tiger, not a pet panther..." Laura trails off, speaking more to herself than the cat.

Laura bends down on one knee, allowing the large cat to nuzzle its face into her neck. "Please don't bite me, please don't bite me, please don't bite." Laura chants under breath, not understanding why she even felt the need to bend down to the cat's eye level in the first place. The cat purrs into her neck instead, causing Laura's tensed body to relax against the softness of the fur, and the tickling of its whiskers against her neck. Laura pulls her head back slightly, getting a good look at the panther's eyes. "You are much sweeter than I would have ever thought capable of a panther. I wish I could take you home with me, but unfortunately, I can't. What's your name anyway?" The blonde asks, making a face of disbelief when she realizes that she just asked an animal to tell her its name. The cat seemingly snickers, as if it understood every word she has said thus far. _Who knows? Maybe it has. Stranger things have happened around Silas than a cat who can understand the human language_, Laura thinks to herself with a shrug.

"Are you a girl or a boy? I don't want to refer to use an "it", and I'd rather not refer to you as a gender you're not comfortable with." The cat's mouth opens into what Laura could only perceive as a smile. Laura smiles back, petting under the cat's chin. "You strike me as a girl. Are you a girl?" She asks. The cat purrs and Laura takes that as a yes. "Well, Miss. Panther, I must get going. You are free to walk with me until I reach the campus gates." The blonde says, standing up straight and leading the way. The panther follows after her, sticking closely to her side should any harm come the blonde's way. Laura keeps her hand on the back of the cat's neck as she walks, removing her hand only when she reaches the campus' entrance. Laura turns back to the cat and kneels down before her, allowing the cat to nuzzle her face into her neck one final time. Laura wraps her arms around the cat's neck loosely, nuzzling her nose into the panther's impeccably clean and soft fur.

"It was great walking with you, Miss Panther. I do hope to see you again." Laura says with a final pet to the cat's head, before standing up straight and turning towards the campus gates. As soon as she opens the gate and enters, Laura turns around one final time, hoping to see the panther still standing there. But when she turns back, the panther is gone, as if it wasn't even there in the first place. Laura furrows her brows and shrugs, making her way up the graveled path leading to her dormitory hall.

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After showering and changing into her pajamas, Laura retires to her bed, lying down on her back, her face looking towards the ceiling. Laura's mind wanders to the panther that followed her on her walk home; how sweet and non-murderous it was towards her. How protective its stance was around her. Laura doesn't think she's ever felt so safe. It was a nice feeling for a change; to feel safe and cared for. With all of the strange events going on around campus, Laura hasn't felt safe in a while. The opening of the room door snaps Laura out of her thoughts and she sees the shadow of her roommate enter the room. Laura watches as Carmilla climbs into her bed—still clad in her black tank top, black leather pants, and black leather boots-and just sits there, staring at nothing in particular.

"You're back late." Laura says quietly, startling Carmilla out of the, seemingly, deep thought she was lost in.

"Yeah, I just went for a late night walk." The brunette says with a shrug.

"You do that a lot, don't you? I've noticed you disappearing a lot more than usual? Where do you go?"

"Out." She answers back shortly. Laura huffs and rolls onto her side, now facing Carmilla's side of the room.

"Did you get a job?" Laura tries again, only to be pinned by a pointed look. "Right. A job would require you to do actual work." Laura says in a sarcastic tone. Carmilla rolls her eyes at the girl and lies down on her back, staring up at the bare ceiling. "You know, we've been living together for a little over a month, and you still haven't told me where you go all night. You've also never mentioned any of your hobbies, likes, and dislikes."

"Maybe I want to keep these things to myself. Let it go, Lois Lane." Laura sighs at Carmilla's deflection and rolls onto her back.

"Well, tonight, on my walk home from work, I was followed by a large black panther." Carmilla turns her head towards Laura, looking at the blonde with an unreadable expression.

"Oh yeah? And how was that? Did it try to eat you?"

"No. It kept me company. It actually seemed rather fond of me, not to mention protective. Who would have thought a supposedly dangerous animal like that would actually offer protection to a measly human?" Laura says, completely missing the hopeful and adoring expression on the brunette's face.

"This goes to show that not everything with fangs is out to eat you." Carmilla says drolly, causing Laura to breathily chuckle.

"I guess not."


End file.
